The Girl from Hell
by trosegeek20
Summary: Sam and Dean find a 14 year old girl fighting demons in a back alley. The crazy part is, she's winning! She can fight like no one they have ever seen and is amazingly strong. They decide to help this girl and try to learn why she was involved with demons.
1. The Meeting

Sam and Dean were walking back to their crappy motel after finishing a ghost case. As they were walking past an alley they hear shouts and thuds. Sam turned to Dean,

"Should we-?" but Dean was already running towards the noise. As they got closer they could see it was a girl that looked around the age of 14 fighting three men. One of the men had darker skin and was around 6ft, another was pale and about 5ft 8in. The last was tan, super buff and 6ft 3in. This young girl was holding her own against these three men. As Sam and Dean rushed to help they saw her fling water onto one of the men. He yelled and his face looked as though he had been burned. The two hunters could see his black eyes flash in that single moment. Sam stopped, surprised.

"Demons?" He said. Dean kept running forward. He pulled out the demon knife as he ran. The girl had seen Sam and Dean.

"Run!" she yelled and immediately turned and punched the demon behind her in the face.

Dean and Sam joined in on the fight quickly.

"Listen, we know these are demons and I can help you kill them!" Sam said wrestling with the darker demon.

"I'm doing fine on my own!" the girl replied jabbing the shortest demon in the throat.

"Yeah maybe you are, but you can't kill them, We can!" and with that Dean stabbed the demon he was fighting with the demon blade. The demon let out a yell and sank to the ground, dead. Seeing this the girl grabbed the arm of the demon she was fighting and flipped him over her shoulder, onto the ground.

"Knife!" she said. Dean tossed the knife to her and she stabbed the demon and then quickly ran over to the demon Sam was fighting and stabbed him too. All three demons lay on the ground dead. Now that the fighting was over Sam and Dean could really look at the girl. She had light brownish, blondish hair that was shorter than Sam's but slightly longer than Dean's. The girl was about 5ft 6in and wearing an old, dirty, old sweatshirt with some grubby jeans and brown combat boots. Her eyes which were now focused on the boys, were a dark gold color. She was sporting a magnificent bruise on her jaw and had more cuts and bruises all over herself. At first the three just stood there until Dean started talking.

"So are you a hunter? How did you get mixed up with demons?"

The girl looked weary, "I don't know what a hunter is and I really don't care. Thanks for the help and all but I'd better get going." She tossed the knife back to Dean and started to jog away. Dean went after her.

"Hey now, wait. You look like you haven't been eating well and it doesn't look like you're very well cared for either."

"I'm fine," she said, "I'll be going now."

"Wait!" Sam called, "What if we bought you some food?"


	2. Start of Trust

10 minutes later the three of them were sitting around a table at a small diner down the road. Max was shoveling food into her mouth as if she hadn't eaten in days and as far as Sam and Dean knew she hadn't. Sam decided to start questioning the girl when she took a break from eating.

"What's your name?" He asked gently.

"Max." The girl replied quickly.

"Is that short for Maxine or something?" Dean asked.

"It's just Max."

"Do you have a last name?" he asked.

"Kew. Max Kew."

"Ok Max," Sam said , "How do you know about demons if you're not a hunter?"

"Why do you care?" Max asked.

"Well, we hunt demons along with other… things. We could help you."

" I don't need help. I'm fine by myself."

"Listen," Dean said, "You're all alone, obviously haven't eaten in days, and no offence, but need some cleaning up. Just come with us and we can help you." Max looked reluctantly back and forth between the two boys.

"How do I know I can trust you?" She said. Dean let out a small laugh.

"I can give you our word we won't hurt you and even if we tried, I'm pretty sure you could take us both on the way you were dealing with those demons back there."

Max gave a little smile and said wearily,

"Ok, but only because you're right, I really need some cleaning up."


	3. The Secret's Out

Once they were back at the motel Max took a hot shower while Sam went out to buy her clothes. He came back with a dark grey t-shirt, light blue jeans, and a green army jacket. Max refused to part with her boots so the new tennis shoes Sam bought were taken back. When Max came out of the extra room all dressed and clean she found Sam and Dean sitting at the table. She walked over but didn't sit down. Instead, she stood against the wall with her arms folded over her chest.

"Listen," Sam said, "We just want to ask-"

"You want to ask why those demons were fighting me. Right?" Max said.

"Well, yeah. It's kinda odd that someone your age would be involved with demons and crap. "

"I would rather not talk about it," Max replied.

"C'mon," Dean said. "You can trust us."

"I find it hard to trust anyone."

"Why?"

"It's none of your business." _Ring!_ The doorbell sounded. Sam and Dean both stood up and pulled out their guns.

"Stay out of sight," Dean said to Max. Max stood back behind the boys. Dean walked over and slowly opened the door. A tall man in a suit stood in the door frame.

"Hello," He said, "I'm looking for a young girl around the age of fourteen. She has short brown hair and is around the height of 5ft 6in -" Quickly Sam pulled out holy water and splashed it on the man's face. The man yelled and his face steamed.

"Demon!" Sam yelled. Dean swiftly pulled out the knife and attempted to stab the demon but the demon was too quick. He grabbed Dean's arm and twisted until Dean dropped the knife and then he kneed him in the gut. Sam moved towards him but before he could make a move was knocked into the wall. The demon moved towards Max. He tried to grab her but she ducked and came up with a hard punch right under his chin, knocking his head up. Then she used her other hand to punch the side of his face knocking him off balance. Max saw that Dean had got back up and was holding the knife. She grabbed the demon and spun him around so Dean could stab him in the chest with the blade. The demon died with a scream and fell to the floor. Sam recovered from slamming into the wall and slowly got to his feet to join Dean and Max.

"Ok," Dean said, "Those demons in the alley weren't just demons you happened to run into, were they? They're looking for you!"

"Yeah they are which is why I shouldn't be here. I'm getting out of here before more come." Max said, making to move towards the door.

"Why are they looking for you?" Sam said. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything."

"Did you sell your soul?" Dean said.

"No!"

"Did you make any kind of deal?" Sam asked.

"I didn't-"

"Well than why are they after you?"

"I was in Hell!"

Both of the hunters were silent. "How did you get to Hell?" Dean said. Max was silent. She didn't want to relive everything that had happened. She didn't want to talk, she just wanted to keep moving.

"Max?"

Max slowly gave into the fact that she would have to talk and sank into a chair.

"I didn't sell my soul. My father did."


	4. The Memory

"When I was four I was at home with my dad just like any other day when a strange man came to our house. It was just me and my dad, my mom had died a few years earlier. My dad let the man in and started talking with him. I couldn't pick up what they were saying but when they were done the man came into the room where I was and grabbed me. I yelled for my dad to help but he just smiled. My dad said, "It's ok my dear. Though you might be in suffering I will prosper. As long as you stay with this man I will live." My dad traded my soul for his life. After that the man took me down there."

"Down where?" Sam asked.

Max looked up and the boys could see the pain in her eyes. "To Hell. He took me to Hell."

Sam and Dean were speechless. They didn't know what to say. Finally Dean asked, "How long were you down there?"

"10 years," Max said, "But in Hell it was more like 1,200. I only got out a couple months ago."

"How did you get out?" Sam asked.

"I wasn't on the rack like most souls. I was kept with the demons for their entertainment. One day I was able to run. I hide and ran straight up from Hell. But before I could escape they made me fight other demons for their enjoyment and every time I lost they would punish me. They tortured me every day. I learned how to fight hoping if I won they wouldn't hurt me, but I was wrong. They still tortured me with something new every time. 1,200 years is a long time. They hurt me in ways you could never imagine," Max stared at the boys fiercely as if daring them to show pity.

"Hey," Dean said softly, " It's ok. You're ok now. You're with us." He went to touch her shoulder but she flinched at his touch. Sam and Dean gave each other a look.

"Hey Max, Dean and I are going to go into the other room for a little bit," said Sam, "Why don't you just try to get some rest." Max looked up but didn't say anything. She stayed at the table her whole body tense as if ready for someone to attack her. Sam and Dean walked into the other room and started talking in hushed voices.

"1,200 years," Dean said, "It's a miracle she's still sane."

"It would explain why she didn't want our help. She can't trust anyone after her own dad selling her to demons."

"What a douchebag."

"Dean what are we going to do?" Sam asked, "I mean I want to help her but what if she doesn't want to be helped?"

"We can't just leave her to the demons. She's an amazing fighter and all but she can't kill them and she can get tired, they can't. They would capture her eventually and take her back to Hell. Sam we can't let that happen."

"Ok," Sam said, "Here's my idea. We offer to take her back to the bunker with us. We do all we can to convince her, but if she turns us down we buy her a bunch of food and supplies, tell her all of Bobby's old safe house's, and hope she stays away from demons."

"We have to convince her to stay with us. She's dead if she leaves."

"C'mon. If she's still awake we can ask her." Sam and Dean walk back into the room. Max is still sitting at the table her eyes wide open.

"Are you even tired?" Dean asked.

"I haven't been able to sleep much since I got out of Hell," Max said, "I've had to be on alert for demons non-stop and the times I think I'm safe, the memories keep me awake."

"We might be able to help you stay safe," Sam said, "Now I know you're gonna want to decline this offer but just hear me out. We have a bunker. It's where we live most of the time and it's warded against demons among other things. You could come stay with us. You would be safe. You wouldn't have to run anymore." Max looked up and for a split second the two hunters saw hope flash across her face, but then it was gone, her expression flat and unyielding.

"You only just met me earlier today. Why are you doing so much for me? It's not that I'm not grateful, it's just… I don't understand."

"I know you've only ever known cruelty and betrayal," said Dean, "But not all people are like that. Most people are kind. We are helping you because you need help. You can't keep going like this alone. Come with us. Be safe for once." Max looked at the boys and into their eyes. She weighed her choices, deciding whether or not she could trust them. After a few seconds she said,

"Ok."


	5. Going Home

Max was sitting in the back of the impala with Dean driving and Sam in shotgun. It was a quiet car ride. The boys seemed hesitant. They were quiet as though they thought talking might bring back more memories from Hell for Max. Max could sense this and smirked a little.

"You know," she said, "I may have been to Hell but I'm not fragile. You don't have to be worried about upsetting me."

The boys seemed to relax a little.

"Sorry," Sam said, "We just don't really know how to deal with this kind of thing. I mean we've both been to Hell, but not for nearly as long as you, or… you know, thrown in by our own father."

"How did you guys get to Hell?" Max asked.

"I was there before Sam," Dean said, "Sam got killed so I sold my soul to a demon to bring him back. I was there for about 40 years, and unlike you, I was on the rack."

"Well I was the vessel of Lucifer," Sam began.

"Wait hold up. Lucifer?" Max exclaimed.

"Long story short, he was inside of me so I jumped back into 'the cage' which was the place Lucifer was held and took him with me. Our friend Cas, who is an angel, pulled me out."

"Huh," Max said, "and I thought my life was weird."

2 hours later they arrived at the bunker.

"Hate to break it to you boys but this looks like a run down building," Max said.

"Just hang on a sec will you?" replied Dean. He walked over to the concealed entrance and showed Max inside.

"Whoa," she said, "This is where you guys live?"

"Must of the time, yeah," said Sam, "Here I'll show you where you can sleep." Sam led Max down the hallway and into a single bedroom.

"You can put your stuff here," he trailed off. Max was standing there smiling slightly with her arms crossed.

"Thanks," she said, "When I get 'stuff' I'll definitely put it here."

"Why don't I give you a tour of the place," Sam suggested.

"All I want to see is the kitchen, I'm starving."


	6. The First Case

Max had been staying with the hunters for three days when Dean first found a case in the newspaper.

"Hey Sam," he said, "This looks like our kind of thing."

"Three men found dead," Sam read, "How do we know this is our kind of thing?"

"Look," replied Dean, "All were found without a heart."

"Werewolf?"

"Werewolf."

"You guys hunt werewolves too?" Max asked as she walked in with a half eaten hotdog in her hand. Today she was wearing a blue plaid shirt with jeans and as always, her brown combat boots.

"We hunt a lot more than just demons and werewolves Max," said Dean.

"You guys need to start teaching me about everything you hunt," she said sitting down at the table, "So when are we leaving?"

"We?" exclaimed Dean, "No way you're staying here."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't go. And saying "you're too young" doesn't cut it because I fight better than either of you."

"Max we just don't want you getting hurt. You're not really experienced in hunting," said Sam. Max picked up the paper from the table

"It says this happened all the way in Cheyenne," Max said, "That's at least a couple hours away. You can fill me in on the way there."

"Max-"

Dean cut off Sam, "Max come down to the shooting range with me. If you can hit the target you can come with us."

And so 20 minutes later they were all in the impala on their way to Cheyenne.

"Nice going Dean," said Sam in a hushed voice.

"Dude she's 14! How was I supposed to know she could fire a gun?"

"You know I can hear you." said Max from the back of the car.

They arrived in Cheyenne a few hours later and booked into a motel. Sam and Dean got on their suits and gathered their fake badges.

"Max we don't have badges for you and even if we did, you're too young to be an FBI agent," said Dean.

"I'll just wait in the car," Max replied from the chair she had settled in.

"Why don't you just wait here?"

"No way I want to get in on the excitement. If anything goes down I want to be there." Dean could see there was no way he was going to convince her to stay. He let out a huff of exasperation and said,

"Fine whatever, c'mon let's just get going."

The three of them drove to the local hospital and parked the car.

"Ok," said Sam, "Max just wait here ok? We won't be gone long. At the most we'll be gone an hour. All we have to do is go see the bodies and make sure this really was a werewolf attack."

"Yes captain," Max said with a sarcastic salute.

"Ok," said Dean, "See ya later." Sam and Dean walked into the hospital and headed towards the morgue. The doctor at the morgue was a small older man, with square spectacles and silver, thinning hair. As they walked in he greeted them,

"Hello my name is Dr. Shaw," he said, "How can I help you today?"

"Hi, we're from the FBI," Sam said and him and Dean flashed their badges, "We're here about the three dead men found in this past week."

"Ah yes. The heartless victims. Very odd. Very odd," the doctor said, "Why don't you come on in and I'll show you the bodies." Sam and Dean followed the doctor further into the room. When they got to the end of the room and the doctor didn't make any move to pull out a body Sam and Dean started to sense something was wrong.

"You okay there doc?" Dean asked, "you gonna show us the bodies?"

"Ah I'm afraid there are no bodies for you boys to see here," the doctor said. Sam and Dean turned around to see two more doctors shut the doors behind them. "See the whole case wasn't real. The names you read in the paper were fake. Nobody was killed by a werewolf or any other creature in this town. See this whole case was a trap," the doctor flashed black eyes at the hunters, "It was all a trap for you idiot hunters. You see you always just come running right to us. It's honestly getting pretty funny at this point." The demon motioned with his right hand and four more demons stepped from behind the curtains on the other side of the room. Six of the demons were advancing on Sam and Dean.

"Dean!" Sam called, "The knife!" Dean swore.

"I left it in the car!" The two fought their hardest but without being able to kill the demons they were quickly restrained. Each boy had one demon holding each arm and another in front of them ready to push them back if they tried to escape.

"Now," said the demon who was disguised as the doctor, "Where is Max?"


	7. Ready to go Back?

Max had been sitting in the car for a little over a hour and was starting to get slightly worried. She decided to get out of the car and check on the boys. She was about to walk into the hospital when she paused. She walked back to the car and grabbed the demon knife.

"Just in case," she said to herself. As she walked around the hospital she found her way to the morgue. She stopped before walking in and put her ear to the door. She could a conversation going on but she couldn't make out what they were saying. She looked around and grabbed a cup from a nearby tray. She put her ear on the cup and put the cup on the door. She could now hear clearly what was going on in the room.

"Where is she?" a fierce voice said. The question was followed by silence and then a loud grunt as if someone had been punched.

"Think you're clever don't you?" the voice said, "Well listen here. I know this girl and she'll come running to whoever needs her help. So when she catches word that you two were captured by demons she'll be here faster than you can say-" Before he could finish Max burst into the room. She could see Sam and Dean being held up by demons. They were both sagging a little and Dean had blood trickling out of his mouth. Max could see bruises on both of the boys faces too. The demons had obviously been hurting them trying to get them to tell them where she was.

"Sorry," she said, "am I interrupting something?" The voice she had heard from behind the door had been from a older man that looked like a doctor. The man laughed,

"What did I tell you?" he said, "I said she would be here and here she is!"

"Max run!" cried Sam. He let out a grunt as the demon standing in front of him socked him in the gut. Max looked at Sam quickly and then turned back to the demon.

"Let them go."

"And what makes you think I'd do that?" the doctor replied.

"It's me you want, not them."

"Max no don-" Dean couldn't finish before a demon punched him in the jaw. He spit out blood and before he could say anything else the doctor motioned to the other demons. The demons that were standing in front of the boys moved behind them and put their hands over their mouths. The two hunters struggled but they couldn't fight off three demons at a time.

"So," the doctor said, "Are you prepared to make a deal?"

"You can have me just let them go." Sam and Dean both struggled harder trying to stop this deal from being made. Max moved closer to the doctor demon.

"Do you accept my trade?" she asked.

"You come with us and I let them go. Deal."

"Let them go first." The doctor made another gesture to the demons and they let the boys go.

"Max don't do this!" Dean cried. Max turned back towards him and gave him a half smile.

"Hey. I'll be fine."

"You'll be back in Hell!" said Sam.

"Well I was fine last time, I'll be fine now."

"You weren't fine you-"

"Dean shut up. I'm doing this whether you like it or not." And with that Max turned to the demon and moved towards him.

"Ok," she said, "I'm ready." Sam and Dean watched in horror as the demon moved towards Max. He walked towards her slowly, clearly enjoying the moment. As soon as he was a step away from Max she struck. Faster than the demon could react she grabbed the knife from her back pocket and stabbed him in the chest. Then she turned around and before the first demon even hit the floor, she stabbed the demon that had started running towards her. Sam and Dean were stunned. They quickly recovered from the shock and joined in on the fight. Dean and Sam engaged with one demon each while Max was fighting three. Now with the knife at her disposal she quickly killed the demons and turned to the boys. Dean yelled,

"Knife!" Max tossed the knife to Dean and he quickly stabbed the demon and then turned to the demon Sam was fighting and together they quickly took down the finally demon. Dean and Sam both turned to Max. She grinned sheepishly at them.

"You… are a really good actor," Dean said.

"Yeah you really had us," agreed Sam. Max grinned sheepishly.

"Well I couldn't just let them take you guys to Hell."

"Yeah but we really thought you were going back there," said Dean, "You really pulled through. Nice going kid." He pulled her close and gave her a little noogie. The three of them walked together out of the hospital and to the car. They were all just ready to go home.


	8. Case 2

Max bolted upright in her bed in cold sweat. She had just woken up from another nightmare. She had dreamed about the day her dad sold her to the demons and all the pain that followed. Every night since she had gotten out of Hell she had had this dream. Every night she was reminded of Hell so she could never forget it. It had been seven months since Max first came to live with Sam and Dean, eight months since she had been out of Hell. At first Max didn't think she would ever be able to trust anyone ever again. Max had built walls to protect herself from trusting people. In her book trusting people led to hurt, but in her months with Sam and Dean she had began to trust them. Max stood out of bed and stretched out. She checked the time. It was 8:00. Sam would be up, but it was most likely Dean would still be sleeping. Max walked through the hallways to the kitchen. She was right. Sam was up but Dean wasn't. Sam was grabbing himself a cup of coffee, his hair still in bed head mode.

"Morning Max," he said as she walked to the fridge.

"Dean still sleeping?" Max asked.

"Yup. He's beat." Max grabbed leftover pancakes from the fridge and reheated them in the microwave. She sat down at the table with Sam and half an hour later they were joined by a sleepy Dean.

"Hey sleepyhead," Max teased.

"Ah stuff it," grumbled Dean as he searched for the coffee pot.

"Looking for something?" Sam asked holding the pot in his hand.

"Give it here," said Dean.

"What's the magic word?" Sam said in a singsong voice. Dean whacked the top and Sam's head and grabbed the pot. Max sat back laughing. Dean got his coffee and Sam sat back reading the newspaper.

"Get this," he said, "People have been reporting seeing people with black eyes."

"Demons?" said Max.

"Yeah and they said the people seen with black eyes haven't been acting themselves," replied Sam, "There've been about 20 reports like this and all in Jefferson City, Missouri. Demons are surrounding this place."

"Why though?" asked Dean, "I mean what do they want?"

"Could be another trap," suggested Max.

"Why would they still be searching for you?" questioned Sam.

"Demons like to keep their deals," said Max, "My dad gave them my soul so they keep him alive. They promised him eternal life. Without me they can't do that."

"Well in that case," said Dean, "You're not coming."

"That would be stupid seeing I'm the best fighter you've got."

"Yeah but if it's you they're after-"

"Last time the demons set a trap it was me that saved both of your butts. If you went in alone you would have no chance of getting out and then they were just torture you to get to me again. Leaving me here would be stupid."

"Dean she has a point," said Sam, "We might need her."

"Correction," said Max, "You will need me."

"Fine! Whatever, "Dean gave in, "Let's just get moving." They packed the demon knife, their guns, holy water, and salt, and piled into the impala. After a couple hours they arrived in Jefferson City.

"Where do we start," asked Max.

"If demons are gathering here we need to find headquarters," said Dean, "Jump right in the middle of them."

"Yeah but we do actually need a plan too," said Sam, "We can't just barge in there."

"We can deal with that when we get there," replied Dean, "But first we need to find this place."

"That won't be a problem," said Max from the back seat. She pointed across the road where an abandoned warehouse stood. There were two people a man and a woman standing guard at the front doors. Through the window they could see people walking around in the building. "That kinda looks suspicious doesn't it?" said Max.

"Nice going," said Sam, "Now we need a plan."


	9. The Plan

"That's a horrible plan!" cried Max.

"She's right Dean," agreed Sam, "That is a truly awful plan."

"Come on man-"

"Dean we can't just walk right up to the front doors and kick our way in. We don't know how many demons are in there. There could be over a hundred. There's no way that's happening," said Sam.

"Ok ok I get it. Do you have a better plan?"

"I do,"said Max, "I'm the smallest out of all of us. I can sneak in and figure out how many demons are actually in there. Then I'll come back out and we can figure out what to do then."

"No way," said Sam, "It's to dangerous."

"He's right Max," said Dean, "You can't go in there alone."

"Fine," said Max, "But I don't think you guys can come up with anything better."

"I still think if we just take out the two in the front first-"

"Dean we can't just walk in there!" said Sam.

"If you can come up with a better plan I'm all for it but seeing as you can't-"

"Dean, look!"

"Is that?" Both the boys turned around in their seats. The back seat was empty. Max was by the side of the warehouse climbing up towards a window.

"She's gonna sneak in," Sam said. Dean started to get out of the car.

"Dean wait! I say we give her 15 minutes. If she's not out by then than we can barge in."

"But she could get caught!"

"And if we get caught we won't be able to help her. Just give her some time." And so the hunters waited. Around the ten minute mark they saw Max climb back out the window. She looked around, then dropped to the ground and jogged back to the car.

"Ok," she said, "We have a problem."

"What is it?" asked Sam.

"You were right. There must be about 150 demons in there."

"What were they doing?" Dena asked.

"Yeah this is where it gets worse," said Max, "They have hostages. At least ten of them. All kids."

Dean swore, "Now what are we gonna do?"

"That's not all," Max continued, "The king of Hell himself is there."

"Crowley?" asked Sam.

"You guys are on first name basis with the king of Hell?" said Max.

"Another long story," said Dean, "If Crowley is here it's definitely a trap."

"Well what can we do?" said Sam, "We can't just leave the hostages and there's no way we can fight our way through 150 demons."

"Someone has to free the hostages while the other distracts the demons," said Dean.

"I'll distract the demons," said Max, "I'm the best fighter. You guys take care of the hostages."

"It's the best shot we've got," said Dean.

"You guys sneak in through the window," said Max, "The hostages are in the second room on the right. I'll lead the demons away from you guys."

"You sure about this Max?" said Sam.

"Like Dean said, it's the best shot we've got."

"Ok then," said Sam, "Let's do this."


	10. Demons Revenge

Max P.O.V.

Max watched Sam and Dean crawl into the window and then made her way to the front of the warehouse. Dean had given her the demon knife so she snuck up behind the first guard and quickly stabbed him and before his partner could yell Max slashed the knife across her throat. Two down 148 to go. Max crashed through the front doors. She was met with about 50 demons whirling around to face her.

"Sh*t," she said. While the demons began to move towards her she began to formulate a plan in her head. Max quickly looked around. She saw four paths to different places in the warehouse, six windows, and one hole in the roof. She quickly ran towards the third pathway heading away from the hostages. The demons yelled and started chasing her. She ran into a teenage demon and quickly stabbed him in the chest. Max continued running down the hallway more demons joining in on the chase as she went. She kept running until she hit a dead end. She had got more than half the demons in the warehouse to follow her. She pulled out the knife and turned to face the demons.

"Looks like the mouse couldn't find her way out of the maze," teased a tall female demon in the front of the pack.

"Looks like you were all stupid enough to follow me," Max retorted.

"Oh that's right, you were supposed to be the distraction," simpered the girl demon, "Well I guess the Winchester boys are flat out of luck."

"Are you done talking?" said Max, "Can we get back to fighting?"

"If you wish," said the demon, "Remember!" she called to her comrades, "The king wants her alive."

Before Max had time to wonder why she was wanted alive the demons attacked. She took out the first ten demons easily but she was no match for over 50 demons. She slashed and stabbed until one demon knocked the knife out of her hands. Max then started punching and kicking as hard as she could. She had sustained hits to her arm, legs, gut, and face. As strong as Max was she couldn't hold out forever. She began to tire and her hits began slower. Max turned to attack behind her but before she could do anything a strong fist hit her in the jaw. She wavered slightly and then fell to the ground. Before she blacked out she saw the demons moving in on her.

Sam and Dean's P.O.V.

Sam and Dean made it to the hostages room easily. They snuck in to see ten children, boys and girl, from the ages six to ten. Every one of their hands were tied with rope to a pole above their heads. The hunter quickly moved in and freed the kids.

"Listen," said Dean, "We're not going to hurt you. We're here to get you out but you have to be quiet." The children all nodded their heads with wide eyes.

"Ok," Sam said, "Come on."

They moved down the hallway and made it all the way to the window without seeing any demons. As soon as they got the first kid out the window demons started flooding through the hallway.

"Run!" yelled Dean. He and Sam quickly lifted the rest of the kids out the window and turned to jump out themselves but were pulled back by demons. They didn't even get the chance to fight. The demons handcuffed the boys and without a word started herding them down the hallway. Sam and Dean fought but with their hands restrained and two demons on each arm, they couldn't do much.

"Hey guys," said Dean, "Just one question. Why aren't you killing us?"

"The king wants you alive," replied a demon in the front of the pack.

"Oh great," Dean muttered to himself, "If Crowley wants us alive this has to be good." A demon quickly turned around and punched Dean in the stomach. Dean groaned and slouched forward.

"Dean!" said Sam, earning him a punch in the gut too.

"Both of you shut up," said another demon. And so they moved down the hallway silently. They finally reached a huge room with at least 30 more demons already in it.

"Hello boys," said a familiar voice.

"What the hell Crowley?" said Dean, "What's this about?"

"I thought you might want to see a friend of yours," replied Crowley. He stepped aside to reveal Max behind him. She was strung up by chains with her feet just barely touching the ground. Her hands and feet were both wrapped in chains. Max was unconscious and Sam and Dean could see her face was bloody and she was covered in bruises from head to toe.

"Max!" cried Sam, "What do you want with her Crowley?"

"I want to take her back to Hell," Crowley said, "But not before I have a little fun first. You see Max here as major trust issues. It takes forever for her to trust someone completely but you two have seemed to get her to trust you. I want her to be betrayed by you two. I want to see her heart break again."

"You're a monster," said Dean, " and we would never betray her."

"I'm sure I can find some way to persuade you, but in the meantime you can hang out with Max. String them up," Crowley ordered. The demons wrapped chains around the handcuffs and hung Sam and Dean on the other side of the room across from Max.

"Have fun boys," said Crowley, "See you in the morning."


	11. Beaten Down

Sam and Dean stood wide awake looking at Max, who was still unconscious, from across the room.

"Dean," said Sam, "How are we going to get out of this?"

"We need to get out of these chains first," said Dean, "and then we'll make it up as we go."

"She looks in pretty bad shape," said Sam gesturing towards Max.

"She drew about half the demons in the building away from us," Dean replied, "Of course she's in bad shape." Just then Max groaned and began to wake up.

"Max!" cried Sam. Max groaned,

"My head feels like, like a nail and the hammer keeps pounding on the nail. Ughhhh."

"Yeah well they obviously think much more of you than they think of us," Dean teased, "I mean they sent about ten demons to deal with us and how many did they send you?"

"Around 75," Max muttered still pretty out of it.

"See?" said Dean, "You're more badass than both of us combined."

"Yeah that would also explain why I have to deal with about twice as many restraints as you," said Max gesturing towards the chains around her arms and legs.

"Yup. I'm offended," Dean joked, "I mean come on at least give me more restraints than Sam." Sam smiled weakly at Dean's attempt at lightheartedness.

"You know you don't have to put up a facade for me," said Max, "I know what a mess we're in." Max tried to straighten up and winced. "I think I may or may not have a broken rib."

"We need to get you out of here," said Sam, "You're in no shape to fight, less alone run."

"And how do you plan on magically breaking out of these chains?" questions Max sarcastically.

"We'll figure it out," said Dean.

"Yeah you do that," said Max, "I think I'm gonna just… sleep a little bit," she said as she started slipping into unconsciousness again.

"Max don't fall asleep!" cried Sam, "You might have a concussion!"

"Don't fall asleep," muttered Max, "Right."

"Hey, look at me Max," said Dean, "We're gonna get out of here. I promise, but you need to stay with us. Stay awake." Max weakly lifted up her head. She tried to keep her head up but her head pounded and she just couldn't do it. She let her head fall and just focused on staying awake.

"Max?" said Dean, "You still with us?"

"Yeah. Still here," Max muttered. Just then the door to the room opened.

"Hello boys. Girl," he added looking towards Max, "My my she doesn't look to good, does she?" Crowley walked over to Max and lifted her chin up so that she was looking at him. Max gathered what little strength she had and spit right into the king of Hell's face. Crowley stepped back and slapped Max with the back of his hand.

Sam and Dean both cried out, "Max!" Max just barely was about to remain conscious. She just hung from the chains hold up her arms.

"What do you want Crowley?" demanded Sam angrily.

"I wanted to check on your dear friend here," Crowley said, "I give her a week at most."

"Why are you doing this?" Dean asked.

"I'm doing this because Max here has been a thorn in my side and I want to make her pay for it. You see this isn't the first time she's escaped from Hell. Every time we catch her because she cares too much. She could disappear and we would never find her, but she cares about other people. All we have to do is catch some innocent souls and she'll come running back to save them. It's pretty pathetic honestly."

"It's not pathetic to care about what happens to other people," Dean said shaking with anger.

"Yes yes Dean Winchester, the righteous man. You have been another pain in my side. So I'm going to make you and your brother pay also. You two get to come with me today." Four demons walked into the room and started undoing the chains hold up the boys.

Max groaned, "No."

"Oh yes little girl," said Crowley, "You get to stay here all by yourself. Alone and in pain. Enjoy."

"Max!" cried Dean. He and Sam struggled against the demons but they each grabbed an arm and frog marched them out of the cell and slammed the door.

"No," muttered Max finally losing consciousness again.


	12. Betrayed

The demons took Sam and Dean to a room adjacent to Max's room. This room had windows that looked into Max's room and there were about ten demons already in the room. The demons sat Sam and Dean down and tied their hands and feet to a chair. They could see Max hanging from the chains holding her up. Crowley walked in behind the boys.

"Just so you know the windows can only be seen from this side and we can hear her but she can't hear us.," he said.

"What are you going to do Crowley?" Dean asked angrily.

"Like I said before I want to see you betray her and I want to see her heart break."

"And like I said, we'll never betray her."

"You see I don't need you yourself to do it, all I need is someone that looks like you." And just then two men walked in and they looked exactly like Sam and Dean.

"Shifters," Sam said.

"Yes," said Crowley, "You two have killed many of their kind. They are here to take their revenge.

"Max will never believe that's us," said Sam.

"Oh I assure you they are very good actors. My only concern is that she'll be to out of it to understand. Which is why I've decided to heal her first." Sam and Dean watched as a demon walked into the cell Max was in and put his hand to her head. She immediately snapped her head up and regained her footing. She kicked out at the demon with both feet and hit him in the gut. Since her feet were tied together she pulled herself into the air using the chains around her hands and grabbed the demon's head with her knees. The demon couldn't get out of her legs he was hitting her but she didn't let go. Dean laughed,

"Even tied up your demon can't beat her." This earned him a slap across the face. Two more demons rushed into the room and pulled Max off of the demon that had been struggling from in between her legs. The three demons then exited the room. The boys could hear Max from the other side of the glass.

"You bastards let me go!"

"Time for Sam and Dean to enter," said Crowley. He turned to the shifters, "Remember the script." The two shifters nodded and headed into the room.

"Sam! Dean!" cried Max, "Help me out of here…" Max trailed off. It had occurred to her that something was wrong.

"Why are you guys free?" she asked suspiciously.

"Still haven't figured it out?" asked the shifter the looked Sam, "God you're so stupid."

"I don't understand," said Max refusing to believe what her head was telling her.

"For god's sake," said the shifter Dean, "All this was just a trap. The bunker, the cases, even coming here. You were never our friend. This was all just a game to watch you play. You've been a thorn in all these demons sides and this was their revenge."

"Why would you do this?" Max asked, "You're not demons."

"We help the demons and in return we get to live," said shifter Sam, "Hey kinda like how your dad sold your soul to live." Max was silent. She couldn't believe it. The real Sam and Dean were shouting. They were horrified at what was happening.

"Stop it!" yelled Dean.

"What are you not having fun?" asked Crowley, "Just wait for the best part." They turned their view back to the window.

"I don't believe you," Max finally said.

"Oh get it through your thick skull," shifter Dean said meanly, "We never really cared about you and no one ever will!"

"LIAR!" yelled Max. Shifter Dean quickly punched her in the gut causing her to double over. Shifter Sam leaned in close to Max,

"You will never get out of Hell. It's where the scum like you belong, so accept your fate," he snarled. Max spat at him earning herself a punch to the face this time. She spat out blood and stood up as straight as she could.

"It's you who belongs in Hell you son of a bitch."

"Well," said shifter Dean, "We're not the ones going down there." Both of the shifters smiled cruelly and left the room. They slammed the door behind them. Max stayed standing straight up with her head held high. The real Sam and Dean were sitting in silence. They watched as Max began to break down. This poor girl was so young but she had been through so much. She had faced horrors beyond belief and just when she thought she was safe she was betrayed again. As strong as Max was she was still only 14. She had been tortured and tricked over and over again and she couldn't take much more. She let her head hang down forwards and let a single tear escape.

"You have five seconds," she said to herself, "Five seconds of weakness and then you have to be strong again."

 _5_

 _4_

 _3_

 _2_

 _...1_


	13. When All Seems Lost

Max silently formed a plan in her head. She decided since the demons healed her last time, they would still want her alive. Conclusion? Play dead. Max went limp and hung from the chains. After about four hours a demon came in to check on her.

"Is she dead?" one said.

"Man if she's dead Crowley will kill us," said the second. As they walked closer Max opened her eyes the tiniest bit. Her head was down so the demons couldn't see anything. Max saw that the first demon had keys around his belt. She shut her eyes again. As soon as the first demon touched her she grabbed his throat with her knees and held tight. The demon was short and had short blond hair. The second demon was taller and had slightly longer hair that was brown. He came at her but she turned in mid-air. She still had the other demon between her knees but they weren't like humans. They couldn't be knocked out, so there wasn't much Max could do. She struggled but eventually the second demon got the first demon free.

"You little b*tch," the first one said, "Hold her," he said to the second demon. The demon held Max from behind while his acquaintance. Rained punches down on her. By the end of the beating Max's lip was bleeding and she had trouble getting her breathe back. The demon had knocked the wind out of her.

"That'll teach you," the second demon said, as they walked out of the cell laughing. Max stood up again. Time to come up with a new plan.

Sam and Dean had been moved to a different cell. They were no longer restrained but there was no way out of the tiny room. It was made of grey stone slabs and the floor was cold and rough. Dean paced while Sam sat on the floor with his hands on his knees.

"There has to be a way out," Dean murmured, "There's always a way out." He had searched the room non-stop since they had been thrown in here but had found no way out so far.

"Dean just sit down," said Sam, "You need to rest if we're going to break out of here."

"Yeah well if we're going to break out of here, we kinda need to find a way out," Dean replied sharply, "We need to get out and get to Max."

"What if she won't come with us?" Sam asked, "I mean she had trust issues before but now? How will we convince her that it wasn't really us?"

"We can figure that out later. First we find a way out."

Max had no idea what to do so she started swinging by her arms. Back and forth, back and forth. Her feet were just long enough to reach the walls on the right and left of her so she kicked off the walls as hard as she could. The walls weren't very strong so they moved slightly and Max could see little bits of stone dust falling out as the rocks shifted. She kept going until she had knocked out a rock on one side of the wall. Immediately, the same two demons ran in.

"For god's sake," the blond one said, "Could you just sit still?"

"Why don't we just knock her out?" suggested the taller one.

"Yeah good idea." The two demons came at her. The blond one grabbed her waist and held her still.

"Get off me you-!" She never got to finish because the brunette demon came up and punched her hard in the jaw. She hung unconscious once more. Meanwhile, in Sam and Deans room they were getting excited. Out of nowhere one of the stones in the wall had shifted slightly loose. They pulled at it until it came out completely. They looked through the hole they had made and saw Max with two demons in the room with her. She looked unconscious. The boys waited and then as soon as the demons were gone they pulled out the rest of the stones until they had made a hole big enough for them to climb through. Dean ran towards Max and lifted her chin. He saw a bruise forming on her jaw.

"They knocked her out," he said, "She must have been kicking at the walls."

"Probably better this way," said Sam, "She would never come with us anyway." Dean found an old nail on the floor and used it to pick the locks on Max's hands and feet. Before she could fall to the ground Sam caught her and hoisted her up in his arms.

"Now what?" he said. Dean thought.

"What about Cas?" he asked, "I mean he's gotten us out of tight situations before."

"Call him."

"Ok ok," Dean closed his eyes," Um… Cas we really need you right now so please get your feathery butt down here." Dean slowly opened his eyes and looked around.

"Nothing," said Sam, "Guess we're going to have to find our own way out of this." He turned towards the door when from behind him he heard,

"Hello Dean."


	14. The Escape

Sam and Dean spun around to see the dark haired angel standing behind them.

"Cas!" Dean exclaimed, "Man am I glad to see you!"

"Why did you pray to me?" Cas asked in his gravelly voice.

"Right yeah. Listen this is Max," he said pointing to Max who was still in Sam's arms and unconscious, "and right now we are in the middle of around 150 demons. They captured us and we need to get out of here." Cas looked confused.

"Did you just walk in here or-?

"Listen!" said Sam, "We don't know when the demons are going to come back so we really need to hurry. Cas do you have enough mojo to fly us all out of here?"

"No I do not have enough "mojo" to get us out of here," Cas said, "So we need a different plan."

"How did you get in here?" asked Cas.

"We climbed in through a window," said Dean.

"Can we get back there?"

"Not without passing about 50 demons," Dean replied. Just then Max began to stir. She slowly opened her eyes. For a second she was confused but as soon as she understood what was happening she jerked to alert. She rolled out of Sam's arms and quickly grabbed his arm and flipped him over.

"Max, stop!" yelled Dean. His shouting made the demons outside alert to what was happening. They rushed in, saw Castiel, and immediately ran back out.

"They're gonna warn Crowley," Dean said, "We need to hurry." Max quickly went over to Dean and punched him in the face, hard.

"Ow!" he cried.

"If you think for one second I'm going anywhere with you, you are sadly mistaken!" She went in for another hit but Sam cried out,

"Max wait! The people who talked to you they weren't really us! They were shifters Crowley hired. We got you out of the chains and we really need to get out of here!" Sam said this all very quickly and Max paused for a second.

"Give me one good reason why I should believe you," she said.

"After all we've been through, would we really do that? You've saved our butts tons of times why would we betray you?" said Sam. Max still looked unsure.

"I'll come with you to get out of here but it doesn't mean I trust you. You'll need better evidence then that.." Sam nodded,

"Ok."

"Now who the hell is this guy?" Max said pointing to Cas.

"He's an angel," said Dean, "His name is Castiel."

"Ok whatever, angel sure. Now how are we getting out of here?" They heard a roar from outside the cell. The demons had arrived. Sam rushed over and stood with his hands on the door not letting them in.

"Crap," said Dean, "Cas, how many can you take?"

"All of them."

"Yeah but how many can you take without letting them kill us?" Dean clarified.

"50," said Cas.

"Ok, Max. What happened to the knife?"

"It got knocked out of my hands."

"Guys," grunted Sam, "Can't hold this much longer." Cas walked over and put one hand on the door.

"You can move now," he said. Sam let go of the door and stepped aside. No demon could get in.

"Well, that gives us more time," said Sam.

"Max how many do you think you killed?" asked Dean.

"I don't know," she said, "Maybe 20."

"So there are about 130 left. Cas can take out 50 without us dying. Max can probably hold her own against four. Two each for me and Sam. There are probably about 100 out there right?"

"87," said Cas.

"Ok 87. So… plan. Plan. What's the plan," Dean said pacing.

"There's a window about 100 feet away from this door," said Cas, "I can hold them off while you run."

"Good plan Cas," said Dean, "Ok Cas let them in on three. One-" Cas opened the door all the demons came rushing in. Cas killed five of them immediately.

"Ok on one," Dean muttered, "Max, Sam! We need to get out!" Cas cleared a path for them and they ran out.

"There!" shouted Max, pointing at the window 100 feet away. They sprinted towards it with all their might. When they were 30 feet away demons started to break away from Cas. Max was the first one to reach the window she quickly kicked out the glass and jumped through. Sam and Dean were right behind her. Dean's car was still there. It was all the way in to road. They ran but demons started to come out of the window. Dean got to the car and jumped into the driver's seat. Sam and Max quickly followed.

"Drive!" Sam yelled. The car screeched into motion and they sped down the road.

"We did it," said Dean, "We actually got out of there!"

"Well done," said Cas. Everyone jumped. Cas had appeared in the backseat with Max.

"Jesus Christ Cas!" Dean said, "A little warning next time."

"I killed 102 demons once you got out," said Cas, "They shouldn't be able to bother you again."

"Thanks Cas," said Sam.

"Always happy to help the Winchesters," he said and then disappeared.

"That guy is weird," said Max.

"Tell me about it," Dean agreed.

"Wait," said Max, "This doesn't mean I'm coming back with you. You better explain quickly or I'm getting out of here."

"Ok," said Sam, "When we were taken out of the cell with you, they took us to a room right next to it. They tied us down and explained to us what was going to happen. They showed us the shifters. Crowley wanted us to see what they were going to do. We saw everything happen. There was nothing we could do, but we would never betray you." Max was still uneasy but she said,

"Fine I'll come with you." But, the boys could tell, all the walls had been put back up and she would probably never trust them the same again.


	15. When Trust Falls

Max woke up from her nightmare and sat straight up. She was breathing heavily and sweating. Ever since escaping from the demons again her nightmares had been getting worse. Every night her subconscious drifted down to Hell and every morning she woke up in cold sweat. She didn't talk to Sam or Dean about any of this because she knew there was nothing they could do and was still weary of them. She didn't know what to believe. Were they telling the truth about shifters saying those things or was it really them? Max wanted to believe their story but she didn't want her heart broken again. So she put up another wall. A stronger wall, one that wouldn't be broken. She promised herself that she would never fully trust anyone ever again. Max was tired of lies and loss, so she closed off her heart. She made it as hard as stone. Though she may act in good she would never again feel true heartbreak or sorrow.

Sam and Dean could see the difference in Max. They knew she wasn't the same. They didn't blame her for not fully trusting them once she had been tricked like that, but they didn't know what to do. A couple weeks after they had escaped they found a case. Max walked into the kitchen and grabbed a muffin from the table. Sam was on his laptop and Dean was sitting across from him drinking coffee. Max took a spot on Dean's side on the table.

"Find anything?" she asked Sam who was searching the internet for cases.

"Not-a," he replied, "It almost seems like everything has just stopped."

"Hey, maybe the gates of Hell have closed," said Dean optimistically.

"Oh yeah?" Sam replied, "And who would have done that?"

"Angels, God? Who cares as long as we don't have to deal with them."

"Sorry but I highly doubt that someone has closed the gates of Hell," said Sam.

"Could be another trap," Max said. Both the boys turned to her. They were silent.

"I'm not stupid," she said, "You don't need to shield me from the "big bad" world. I can handle myself. I'm looking on the logical side and if there's no demonic action out anywhere then it's probably a trap."

"If it is," said Sam, "You shouldn't come."

"Hold up," said Max, "You don't even know where to start yet and if anyone here can handle demons it's me."

"Max we know you can handle demons better than either of us but we don't want you getting hurt."

"Stop acting like you're so much older than me!" Max burst out. She stood up angrily, "I know physically you're older than me but my soul has lived so much longer than yours. 1200 years in Hell. 1200 years! I've been in play much longer than you and you do not get to decide what is best for me, so stop acting like I'm a child!" Sam and Dean looked at Max and saw an old woman in her eyes. They didn't know what to say.

"Max we're just trying to protect you," said Sam gently.

"Well, I don't need protection," said Max sitting down, "I can protect myself."

"But you don't need to!" said Dean, "You don't have to be alone in this."

"Yes. I do. Whenever I let other people protect they either get hurt or they end up betraying me and I'm done with it."

"Why are you staying here then?" said Dean.

"You know what? I don't need to be here anymore and in staying here I'm just putting you in danger. So, I'm leaving," Max stood up and headed out.

"Nice going Dean," Sam said and then went after Max, "Wait Max!" he called, but Max didn't slow down at all.

"Max think this through. You have nowhere else to go!" Dean added. Max plowed on going into her room and grabbing her clothes and a bag.

"I'm keeping this gun," she said.

"Hang on," Dean said, "You can't just leave!"

"Watch me." Max walked into the main room and started going up the stairs. Dean tried a one last plan. He grabbed her arm and tried to handcuff Max to the railing but Max was too quick for him. Before the cuff could snap on her wrist she grabbed it and put it on his wrist instead and then attached the other end to the railing.

"Good try," she said, "but I'm leaving and you can't stop me."

"Max please," Sam said, "Just stay and we'll figure this out."

"No," Max said, "I'm never putting my life in anyone else's hands ever again." She turned on her heel and walked up the rest of the stairs. She never looked back.


	16. Demonic Plan

It had been a week since Max left. Sam and Dean hadn't heard anything from her at all and nothing weird had happened in the press. The demonic world was still silent. They'd heard of no demons, or even ghosts. It was eerie, like the quiet before a storm. It was around two o'clock and Sam and Dean were sitting in the bunker eating lunch. Sam had a salad and Dean had a monster burger. As Dean stuffed his face with food Sam was eating his salad with one hand and flipping through the newspaper with the other.

"Dude relax," Dean said through a mouthful of food, "Just chill and eat."

"Dean this isn't normal. Somethings going on."

"Yeah well there's nothing you can do about it right now so put the paper down and eat." Sam reluctantly put down the newspaper and focused more on his food.

"Dean we still haven't heard anything from Max. She could be hurt or even back in Hell." Dean put down his burger.

"Listen, I care about Max as much as you do but if she doesn't want to be found I don't think we'll find her. You heard her before she left. She doesn't want to put us in danger and she still doesn't trust us. She has a good heart but it's been through too much to deal with this kind of thing. Maybe she's better alone."

"Maybe." Sam was still doubtful. Suddenly, they heard a loud _CRASH_! The bunker shook and Sam and Dean fell out of their chairs.

"What the hell!" Dean shouted. Just as soon as it started it stopped and Cas had appeared in the bunker.

"Cas how the hell did you get through the warding?" said Dean angrily.

"There's no time to explain," Cas said quickly, "I'm here because the demons are planning an attack against you. They think by attacking you they will draw Max out. They've gathered all their forces and are going to strike soon."

"How do you know this Cas?" asked Sam.

"I'm an angel," Cas said, "I know stuff. You need to prepare. The demons will be striking soon."

"Cas we don't have the knife anymore. We lost it. We have no way of killing the demons," said Dean.

"Where did you lose it?"

"At the warehouse where you helped us last time-" Cas had disappeared.

"Son of a-"

"Here," Cas said holding the knife in his hand. Dean grabbed the knife.

"Ok but how do they plan on getting into the bunker?" asked Sam, "I mean we've warded it against basically everything there's no way they can get in."

"The weeks you've spent without any action. That was because they've been trying to break the wards. For weeks they've been hacking away at the warding and they're almost done."

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Dean said heatedly.

"I've had other things to be doing," said Cas, "I don't spend every moment of my life watching over you."

"Ok!" said Sam, "Ok we need to reinforce the warding. Draw demon traps, everything before they get in." _CRASH_!

"It's too late for that," said Cas.

"How many?" asked Dean.

"About 200," replied Cas.

"Great," Dean muttered, "How're we gonna get out of this one?"

"We're going to have to fight," said Cas, sliding his angel blade out of his coat sleeve.

"Can't you just do some angel mojo, make them all leave?" asked Sam.

"I could kill them all at once but that would kill you two in at the same time."

"Ok let's not do that," said Dean, "Any other options?" Just then the doors of the bunker burst open and a familiar demon walked through the doors.

"Hello boys."

"Crowley," said Dean, "Because who else would it be?"

"I'm still looking for your little friend Max," Crowley said, "We could do this the easy way or the hard way."

"We won't tell you where she is!" said Sam.

"No because you don't know where she is," Crowley responded, "No. I mean you can call her now or I can call her once we've got you all tied up and helpless. She'll come to your rescue either way so choose now. Easy way or hard way."

"We won't put her in danger," said Dean.

"I thought it would come to this," said Crowley, "So I brought some backup." He raised his arms and all around him demons came into view.

"Last chance," he said. Sam and Dean glared at him defiantly.

"Your choice," Crowley said and the demons came rushing at them. Sam, Dean, and Cas stood back to back on the table and braced themselves for the oncoming flow of demons. Cas killed ten demons right of the bat and Dean stabbed the first one that came near him. Sam stood there fending off the demons with his fists while exercising one after the other. They killed maybe 100 before they started to wear down. They killed one demon and another just took it's place. There were just too many of them. They were just about to be overwhelmed when a voice from above yelled,

"Get out of the middle!" With too much going on to even wonder who it was that spoke, Sam, Dean, and Cas pushed their way out of the center of the room. The demons tried to follow them but most of them were trapped in the middle. They all looked up and saw a huge demon trap painted on the ceiling. They had already killed about 50 of the demons and 100 more were trapped in the trap. Suddenly a figure dropped from the ceiling, flipped in mid-air, and landed right on the outside of the trap.

"Need a little help?" Max asked.


	17. No Escape

"How the-? You know what nevermind," Dean said, "I shouldn't even be surprised anymore." The four quickly returned to action killing the other demons. Dean gave the knife to Max and she wove through them stabbing and slashing. Cas used his powers to smite the demons while Sam and Dean exorcised them until only the ones in the trap were left. They tried to start talking but the demons in the trap were yelling to be let free.

"Let's go outside!" Dean shouted over the noise. The four of them walked up the stairs and headed outside. They all took a second to adjust to the bright sun instead of the darker bunker and then they saw. Crowley was standing in front of them with about 70 demons behind him.

"Crap," Dean said.

"Did you really think that was all I could do?" sneered Crowley, "And this time you won't have your angel to help you." Crowley quickly cut his hand and pressed it to a sigil on the ground near him. Cas returned to heaven with a yell.

"Cas!" Sam yelled.

"You son of a-"

"Now, now. Manners," Crowley said, "Good luck defeating all these demons without your angel to help you."

Dean looked around desperately. On the ground he saw a triangular blade on the ground where Cas had been. Cas had left his angel blade so they could use it! Dean quickly picked it up.

"Ok guys," he said, "We got a plan?"

"There's no way we can take on this many," said Sam.

"Well," said Max, "It's worth a shot." She charged into battle with the demon knife in hand. Dean chuckled,

"She's really something that girl."

"See you on the other side," said Sam and the two of them ran right into the demons. Max had pushed herself right into the middle of the demons. She stayed low and stabbed while always moving so the demons couldn't get a direct hit on her. She killed about 20 before she made back to the outside of the circle. Dean had killed about five demons and Sam had exorcised three. With about 40 demons left fatigue started to affect them and their hits got slower. The three of them stood back to back fighting off demons the best they could. As Max bent down to dodge a punch out of the corner of her eye she saw Crowley pointing a gun at Dean. With a roar she ran at him and tackled him before he could fire. Immediately, demons pulled her off him. She had two on each arm and though she struggled their grip was too tight. Sam and Dean tried to get to her but they were also quickly grabbed by demons.

"Well lookie here," cooed Crowley, "The cat finally caught the mouse." He reached out to put his hand on Max's face, but she bit his hand.

"Go to Hell," she snarled.

"Oh, I'll be there soon," reassured Crowley, "But you get to go there first." Without any warning one of the demons behind Max grabbed her and snapped her neck. She died instantly. Sam and Dean both cried out.

"Max!" yelled Dean, "No…"

"So glad we finally got that taken care of," said Crowley as Sam and Dean glared at him, "She really was a thorn in my side. But, don't worry boys. We'll make sure she can't get out this time." Both Sam and Dean stared at Max's crumpled body on the ground. Her neck was at an odd angle and her legs were folded underneath her small body.

"She was just a kid," rasped Sam, "How could you do that to a kid?"

"Trust me, I've done much worse," clarified Crowley, "Now what to do with you two?" He pondered for a moment of then spoke again, "You know what? I think I'll leave you right here. Knowing you two you'll probably be trying to find a way to bring her back to life. But I just want you to know, she's dead and she's staying dead." Sam and Dean surged towards Crowley against the demons holding them and then suddenly they were all gone. Only Max's body remained. Both boys rushed towards her. Dean held up her head and looked into her eyes for any sign of life. Sam knelt beside him and looked at Max sadly.

"She saved me," Dean said looking up at Sam, "Crowley had a gun on me and she saved me."

"She was a hero," Sam agreed, "We should give her a hunters burial."

One day later and Sam is carrying Max's wrapped up body to the pile of sticks they prepared earlier. He laid her down and stepped back. Dean took out his lighter and set the pile ablaze. Both hunters stood in silence and mourned for their young friend who they couldn't save. They stood there for a little longer and then together walked back to the bunker.

THE END


End file.
